MAALES Project

MAALES Project

The MAALES Project is a community collaborative intervention designed to prevent HIV infection and transmission among African American men who are not part of the gay community. We are a collaboration of researchers and community service providers and activists who are committed to providing HIV prevention in a holistic and culturally relevant context. This includes recognizing the impact of forces such as racism, homophobia, heterosexism, sexism, and gender expectations on individual behavior and relationship dynamics in African American communities.

The intervention: The intervention is based on elements of the Critical Thinking and Cultural Affirmation (CTCA) intervention developed by Cleo Manago and the theory of Reasoned Action and Planned Behavior developed by Icek Ajzen and Martin Fishbein. It involves six two-hour group sessions held over a three-week period. To determine the intervention’s effectiveness, participants will be interviewed prior to participation, immediately after the intervention, and three months after completion. Participants will be compared to a group of men who receive a standard HIV risk-reduction counseling session and are interviewed at similar intervals.

Funding: The intervention and study is funded by the Universitywide AIDS Research Program. Additional, formative research was funded by the Drew University/UCLA/RAND Project EXPORT.

To contact the MAALES Project, please call 310 825-5474 and ask for one of the MAALES staff or e-mail the Lead Principal Investigator: Dr. Harawa at ninaharawa@cdrewu.edu.

Project News/Participant comments

The MAALES Project is currently recruiting new participants.

“The project itself helped me to understand more about my health, change my eating habits, and think about my mother and father’s heart problems. It also helped me to think about and reduce my drinking.”

“I think a lot of times that I am not careful (during sex) because I was drunk.”

“I liked learning more about HIV and being able to ask any questions without being judged or feeling embarrassed.”

“It helped me think more about being safe when with I am with someone.”

“I am able to say no and think about myself and my health. I am more secure about myself and saying no and never worrying if that person would talk to me again.”

“If I'm gon' have sex... I want to use a condom. Get to know that person first.”

“There's no excuse for anybody 19 or younger, even 25, 30 to get the virus. Think before acting. Now that I know. That's what helped me. What can I do to help the community? Keep it safe.”